Suspicions
by TsukyAkari
Summary: Julius Novachrono is no expert when it comes to romance. It doesn t mean he can t notice when two people are in the face of love. Or can he, for real?


**Hi guys! I´m back! I think I set the bar too high with "Rumor has it", so I´ve been afraid to write another story **😅**.** **Anyway, here goes something that´s been on my head for days. Again, I´m not a native speaker of English, so I apologize in advance for all possible mistakes I might have made: feedback is always welcome! **

**I hope you enjoy this **

* * *

**Lovebirds**

**A Black Clover fanfiction**

Julius Novachrono had always had his priorities clear: explore the kingdom and encounter all new types of magic. It was years later that he decided to become the Magic Emperor to protect his people and his country, at the same time granting everyone the chance of becoming a magic knight regardless of their social standings. As so, love had never had anything to do with him. There was obviously a great big deal of love in his labor, but romantic involvement, as in on itself, was unknown to him. His interest was solely set on what was best for the kingdom: sometimes he would wander around to check in on other magicians and therefore he barely had time to meet with anyone not related to his job as the strongest magic knight in the Clover Kingdom.

However, the idea of love and romantic involvement wasn't beyond him. He understood the dynamics, as he had borne witness of his formers colleagues settling down and making a family on their own. Some of their children were even magic knights now, such as Zara Ideale´s son. It was proof enough that time does fly (if anyone could talk about the _time_ it would actually be him) and that he needed to work harder. Pretty much the same way his own generation did, Julius knew the following would eventually face the same fate. Such thoughts would have _never_ prowled his head until one of the current captains had settled down (which seemed so far into the future), but the two least expected people had him wondering about love.

He wasn't that old, though he wasn't a youngster either. However, his position allowed him to notice things other people never got to wonder about. With all the captains around and having known them for long, he had a very particular opinion of each and he respected all of them. Charlotte Roselei was a very special case: he had known her since she was very young and he had witnessed how hard the blond captain had fought to stand in her current position, so it surprised Julius how harsh the woman treated men but followed strictly the rules nobles –men, at most- had set. No wonder why Yami called her spiny prickly queen. Julius held the woman in high esteem, but it intrigued him Charlotte followed the rules so blind and obediently. In that aspect, the Blue Rose resembled Fuegoleon Vermillion, and, in the back of his mind, he thought it wasn't improbable the Crimson Lions captain and the Blue Rose captain would end up together if it came down to it. However, one way or another, Charlotte reminded him of Nozel Silva: the same cold indifference and sense of superiority hiding a very soft heart… they were very much alike, although their personalities would clash very often. William would actually get along just fine with her, as his tranquil personality would peacefully match her short temper.

Of all captains, Julius would have never considered Charlotte Roselei to do anything related to romantic involvement. Absolutely never. But, in fact, she was the very one captain that made him start pairing all the captains up as he wondered about the future. And for the most surprising and unexpected reasons.

It was during a certain meeting he noticed something interesting: romance had never been his top priority -again- but it didn't mean he couldn't tell a budding romance when it presented itself right in front of his very eyes: the ever so calm and recollected Charlotte Roselei was into no other than Yami Sukehiro. At first, he was reluctant to believe his eyes, but the furtive glances the Blue Rose captain would cast towards the Black Bulls captain were hard to ignore. He had noticed a few glances –innocent ones- between the two parties for years and years, but it had been innocent back then, nothing to be concerned about. At that time, however… No one else would catch notice of them, but as he, by chance, took notice of Charlotte´s subtle cues of interest, he decided his suspicions didn't lack any foundation. However, those same glances were broken as soon as Yami turned to the Blue Rose captain and made eye contact. Dense as he was –Julius knew his protégé wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed-, Yami would never suspect he had been able to steal the heart of the very one lady everyone looked after.

It surprised the Magic Emperor that, of all people, Charlotte had chosen Yami. It was actually rather cliché, but fitting as well: somehow, he understood why Charlotte, so uptight and flawless, would fall for the reckless foreigner, who happened to be handsome but disgusting to any woman in her senses. Now, it was daring for him to find out what Charlotte´s thoughts were: he could bet the other woman was falling into despair and indecision. For someone so keen on following the rules while keeping in mind décor, someone so keen on keeping up with appearances and nobility well… to be infatuated with Yami Sukehiro must be one hell of torment. Julius himself didn't mind Yami´s behavior and personality -he loved the kid-, but he knew for Charlotte, relentlessly fighting to prove her worth and to prevent women from being looked down upon, Yami represented everything she went against. How deep Charlotte´s feelings were he couldn't tell, but he suspected there was some longing involved.

The same night Julius noticed the Blue Rose Captain had a thing for his protégé; he also stared in disbelief and at a total loss of words as… well… Thing was that the whole situation went beyond what he had initially thought: more surprisingly, he had caught Yami casting glances towards Charlotte as well, glances that often lingered. He never broke eye contact and kept staring at the woman even after she had bashfully looked away. Again, no one else seemed to notice but he was so interested in the matter... in any case, if Yami got caught it wouldn't be surprising in the least he, as well as everyone else, was into Charlotte Roselei. For Julius, however, it was shocking to realize the two least expected people were into each other and that the Black Bulls captain seemed to be aware of the Blue Rose captain´s interest but was shy –he would say sensible but Yami´s reckless behavior would prove otherwise- to make a move. As far as the Magic King knew, there was no record of commoners and nobles being together _officially_: William´s illegitimate birth was proof enough that such unions did take place in the Clover Kingdom. But a noble and a commoner settling down? No such thing had ever happened. Yami and Charlotte´s situation was even more precarious, as the man was not only a commoner but also a foreigner. And to make things worse, they were both captains of two different squads. Still, it wasn't that meaningful since it got down to no more than just that: glances. It was meaningful, yes (to him) but not relevant since no one else seemed to have taken notice: maybe he was reading too much into things.

Some parties, meetings and weeks later, Julius noticed they would engage in conversations once in a while. He didn't think much of it since they had always sat together during meetings and they would often pick on each other, with Yami getting on Charlotte´s nerves to the point she would lose her cool. Up to that point, the Magic King knew there was some attraction going both ways, but common sense would prevail… at least –he suspected- when it came to the Blue Rose captain. And their conversations were not that out of place, not before Julius started noticing their infatuation with each other and not after. In any case, the two of them were old enough to know how to play the game and, even having noticed their interest in each other, the former Gray Deer captain hadn't picked up on a single clue of flirting in their chats. Both of them were alluring to the eye, so it wasn't abnormal they would pick up on each other´s noticeably attractive features, though the glances the two shared were not gifted to any other single person around them. Still, their conversations only revealed they had grown a bit more attached to each other. Nothing to worry about.

But then, the touching started. Or rather, he started taking notice of it, Julius wasn't sure. Had they been at it before? Had he never noticed? Had they just started? He couldn't tell, but he was completely sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him: the two of them would find the most stupid of excuses to find themselves standing next to each other, going as far as to just… be there, without a word between them. His arm would often brush hers, though. Accidentally, it seemed. They would brush past each other as well, casually bumping into each other, though such behavior seemed to be initiated by Yami and they would start a brief conversation before parting ways. Due to her modesty, Julius thought, Charlotte barely reacted to such provocations, but she was aware of the intentions. From afar, the Magic King witnessed the Roselei heir´s internal conflict: her attraction to the man was undeniable but risks and consequences were also hard to ignore for her. Soon enough, however, the Blue Rose captain caught up: she would pat his arm with wondrous dissimulation for the smallest second and then would move her hand away as if something had stung her somehow. Yami would only smile cockily. He was always the one to leave a lingering touch on the Roselei heir, brushing softly her hands or patting the small of her back. Charlotte blushed furiously quite often but got her composure back in no time.

The two of them were sneaky, Julius conceded, but they were one more observant fellow away from getting caught. He was hopeful, though. He liked the two of them together. Both seemed at ease within each other´s presence. They hadn't changed in the least: he was pretty much the same impulsive kid he had met several years ago and her stern demeanor remained the same, but Julius could swear they were smiling quite often those days. The touching, however, seemed so misleading at times: was he looking too hard on things because of his interest and the things he had noticed were in fact fortuities? He was sure his opinion wasn't biased, but the thought of Yami Sukehiro and Charlotte Roselei being together was improbable, though he found the possibility endearing… And yet, for months, as improbable as it could be…

Interested as he was, Julius decided it wasn't his business what Yami and Charlotte´s thing came to. But the temptation of finding out the truth had him on edge: should he ask them directly? Charlotte would absolutely freak out and deny it; Yami would indolently say it was impossible. Maybe confront them while they were casting glances at each other or when they were together? He expected pretty much the same answer as in the first case. Exposing them in front of everyone? No, it wasn't like him to do such thing, especially because he knew Yami wouldn't actually care but throwing Charlotte to the wolves didn't sit well with him, because he knew the young woman would be exposed to ridicule and there was a chance her feelings weren't as strong to go through so much trouble: maybe the two of them only meant some screwing around but neither could drop the proposal to the other. So Julius decided it was best to do what any reasonable and sensible human being would do: keep the secret.

Too bad he wasn't a reasonable and sensible man. He was going to find the truth, one way or another: was it a mere infatuation or was it really love?

He decided to assign a mission that involved both squads. That way, no one would suspect his true intentions because, hey, it wasn't abnormal for the Magic King to bring squads to work together. He was expecting one of them –probably Charlotte- would absolutely refuse and therefore, the matter would be settled once and for all. But the refusal never came: the mission was accepted right away by both captains. Not even a heartbeat later after receiving an envelope with the details of the mission, they had agreed their squads to work as one, though they had never completed a mission together before. Funny thing, however, both captains tagged along and went with their subordinates, especially because the task wasn't particularly difficult to complete. Maybe, Julius thought, Charlotte and Yami went to check in on their underlings and to prevent them from killing each other. Yami wasn't particularly keen on doing some leg work –or any actual work-, but saving himself the trouble of facing a mad Charlotte if his shenanigans did something wrong –like blowing up a whole city-, might have led him to go with his squad. Same for Charlotte: she hated things going the wrong way or being only half completed, so she might have gone to prevent her girls from falling under the Black Bulls squad´s reckless behavior and to keep all of them in line. So, Julius gave their squads another mission, but this time the Golden Dawn squad was involved as well: William´s subordinates would guarantee a smooth result without a captain´s intervention while also keeping everyone in line. But again, Yami and Charlotte decided to go. This time, however, William volunteered as well, totally unaware. Having three captains away on a single mission was excessive and dangerous, so the Magic King asked one of them to step down on the mission. Since the mission was assigned to the Golden Dawn squad, inevitably Yami or Charlotte had to give up on the mission and for Julius it was obvious they were reluctant to do so. William innocently teased Yami about working together, so Charlotte ended up not going and her bad mood during the mission´s duration was memorable. It wasn't exactly innocent, either, the look the Blue Rose captain gave to her colleague before leaving and Julius feared his other protégé would be found dead for getting in the lovebirds´ way.

Same thing kept happening over and over. He was cautious as not to assign missions quite often but once in a while he did, just to see if Yami and Charlotte would try to go on tasks together. They did, every time. _So much about dissimulation_. Julius considered doing some spying but then thought better of his intent: the two of them, obviously into each other, being alone and away from the capital… well, the Magic King was afraid of catching them more than red-handed and he considered it was indecorous to peek into others´ private lives. _So much about irony_. Still, no one seemed to have taken notice of his now two favorite captains, which meant he was probably the only one aware of their thing. Was it wrong of him to have started dreaming about grandchildren? Though having a little Yami running around would be like straight up starting a cyclone.

As much as he dreamt about the confirmation of their relationship –he wanted so badly for these two people to have encountered love in each other-, Julius knew things weren't as easy so, at times, he would wish Yami and Charlotte weren't serious for real. The fact they were both captains meant nothing if they were in love: so far, their work had been kept up uncorrupted so, if it came down to it, their relationship wouldn't get in their way as leaders of magic squads. No, it wasn't about that: it was about peasantry and nobility. His protégé was used to be laughed at ever since he had shipwrecked into the Clover kingdom and he and his squad destroying everything and only getting negative stars didn't exactly help to lift up a little their reputation. Nevertheless, Yami was the kind of guy who never gave a damn about what others thought. If someone laughed at him for falling in love with Charlotte Roselei, he wouldn't care any less about it: he wasn't the only man –or woman- that girl had sparked something within, but he was the one and only Yami Sukehiro: someone whose magic made others draw back in fear. And a foreigner. At the same time, Charlotte was a noblewoman and not any woman: the heir of the Roselei house. Nobles had never liked the Black Bulls captains and they wouldn't sit idle if they were to find out he had stolen Charlotte´s heart, reducing their chances of getting more powerful and richer. It might hold the Blue Rose captain back as well: being disowned or publicly shamed…she was all about following rules. So far, she had refused to get married and bear children but would she stand up for herself the same if her secret was out? It made Julius really sad because it meant there were still social differences creating pointless divisions in his people, no matter how hard he had fought to make them disappear. So far, William and Yami, his beloved apprentices –and children- had been treated harshly because of their respective origins and now, the Magic King thought, those stupid restrictions were preventing Yami from being happy. That, if he and Charlotte were in fact in love and not just fooling around. In any case, they shouldn't be hiding. But he was reluctant to actually ask them, afraid they would deny the whole thing and get sneakier or to call it quits.

Julius was wondering about the best way to let them know he was aware and that he supported whatever their relationship was when the matter was settled by mere coincidence. Asta had been more than delighted to come by to tell him about the mission he, Noelle, Yuno, Mimosa and Sol had completed together: he had learned another spell and the victory was all on him… and the Blue Rose captain. For that mission, Charlotte had led the small group by herself, but a little stop at the Black Bulls´ base had to be made before leaving. Julius was curious about that. He didn't have long to wonder, however, as Sol came in, fuming, and calling Asta out, threatening to actually kill him. He and Noelle cringed; the other two just shrugged and took a step behind. Only then Julius realized they were all dirty and with dark bags under their eyes. Right after Sol, Charlotte appeared with such a look of defeat Julius felt pity for her. It wasn't the first time she had gone on a mission with these and other kids, so it was strange she looked that exhausted. She took a seat and removed the helmet from her head, placing it in the Magic King´s desk. She told all the kids to leave so she could give her report and get back home, and Asta was the first one to run outside, with Sol trying to take a hold of him.

"So, what happened? I was wondering what took you so long, Charlotte."

"We completed the mission, sir. About three days ago. Here, I wrote a brief report"

Charlotte never wrote brief reports. They were always long, perfectly detailed papers about every single mission she participated in. Yami was the one who wrote the briefest reports. A bad habit he had spared to her? Julius hoped not. Not only that, she never looked that bad. He waited for her to catch her breath, but then noticed she was about to fall sleep. Julius called her name and asked what had happened after their mission. She could barely open her eyes but spoke nevertheless: they had completed the mission very easily and on their way back they decided to spend the night at a certain small village in the middle of nowhere. Unluckily for Charlotte, who had gone to bed, the kids had run into some Black Bulls members and got into one of their usual fights. The result? Everything was destroyed; by the time the noise woke her up, it was late already. They had shown up just then at the Clover Castle because they had been rebuilding –nonstop- everything they destroyed, paying for all they had broken and offering apologies for all the inconveniences they had caused. Julius suppressed a laugh: so far, Charlotte had been safe from the troublesome members of Yami´s squad but she was now scarred for life.

"I have no idea how Yami deals with this", she ended her recollection of the events, "I have never felt as tired as I do now. I don't even have the energy to be mad"

"Did you tell Yami about the ruckus?"

"No, sir. I just wanted to report ourselves and then go back home to rest"

"Very well, Charlotte. I´ll let him know about this. You can retire now".

She left in no time. Julius sighed as he left the room to look for Marx: he needed to have a word with Yami. His protégé answered his call in the way he usually would: nonchalantly, unbothered and uninterested. But as soon as Charlotte´s name was mentioned, Yami´s face changed completely and his interest on the matter rose. For the briefest second, the Magic King saw the smallest trace of embarrassment in Yami´s face but as soon as he had noticed it, it was gone. Had he imagined the whole thing happening? Scratching the back of his head, Yami asked Julius if he could keep the Black Bulls around, so Finral could pick them up at night to bring them home.

"Aren´t you going to offer your apologies to Charlotte? I think your kids´ destruction wore her out to the point she was a blink away from passing out due to exhaustion"

"Nah, seems like she would probably kill me for waking her up. I ain´t risking it. Besides, it´s those brats who must offer apologies"

"Are you afraid of facing her?"

Yami took a puff at his cigarette before answering.

"Why would I be, danna?"

Julius felt the need to resist the sudden urgency to question Yami about his relationship with Charlotte, but his hesitation only caused his protégé to end the call quickly. For a second, he feared something wrong had happened between the two of them and he had no way of finding out. In any case, Marx came informing him of all the paperwork he still needed to fill out. And Julius observed with terror loads and loads, mountains and mountains of the work he had neglected. Therefore, he barely had time to wonder about things going down for Yami and Charlotte and he decided he would speak later to her about all the damages caused and all the money spent on reparations at the village the Black Bulls had destroyed. Unluckily to him, Marx never left his side so he didn't have the smallest chance of slipping away.

It was late, at night, by the time he was done. Boy, was he tired. Even Marx had left earlier and it was due to a sudden impulse to be done with the paperwork he decided to keep going until not a single sheet needed a single signature. In fact, it wasn't that late but having worked for so long it seemed it had been ages since he was able to heave a sigh of relief. It was only then he noticed Charlotte´s helmet was still on his desk: in her hurry, she had left it behind and the fact she hadn't come back to retrieve it meant she was still resting. Julius decided it was about time to figure out whether the Blue Rose captain and his protégé were together: he grabbed the helmet and headed towards the Roselei mansion. As much as Charlotte denied it, he decided, he would have his way and he would know for sure what was going on between those two. He had proof no one could deny and Charlotte was smart but lying was not her strong side. It would take little effort to bring her to confess the truth. Yami, not as smart, was, however, a master at lying. Besides, while flustered, Charlotte would be most likely to give the truth away. And he was so excited about the endearing possibility of those loving each other -despite what it would mean- so it felt like he was about to discover a brand new kind of magic.

He wasn't prepared, however, to the sight that welcomed him at the gardens of the Roselei mansion.

_Well, I´ll be damned_. He felt as if lighting had stricken him when he took notice of Charlotte being there. But she wasn't alone, no. The very one Yami Sukehiro was there as well. With his arms around Charlotte´s waist and her hands on his chest. _So much for not risking it_. They were whispering and Julius was too far away, so he couldn't make out what they were saying. But he knew for sure they were saying goodbye. Not calling it quits, only parting ways for the night. He knew as much because of the adoration in their eyes as they stared at each other with a blissful smile on their lips. How long they had been there he couldn't tell but much longer they were going to stay, either. However, Charlotte grabbed Yami´s hand and tried to take him somewhere to show him something but, even from afar, Julius could hear his protégé saying he needed to leave to go back home with his shenanigans before anyone started suspecting. She wasn't happy and actually let go of her lover´s hand. To the Magic King´s surprise, Yami stroke softly her cheek before whispering something while staring into her eyes.

Julius found himself unable to move, though he was aware of how wrong it was to peek into someone else´s love affairs. Still, he was so startled by the whole situation he was in shock. He did have his suspicions and only intended for a yes/no answer about the nature of the feelings of those two: he had never meant to bump into that sort of situation. Charlotte lovingly smiling at his protégé at her mansion´s gardens… it made Julius really happy. And he was mostly surprised by Yami: it wasn't that he thought him incapable of loving –he knew his apprentice loved his shenanigans- but he would have never imagined Yami to be this… romantic? Well, he wasn't called Destruction God by coincidence. He was most likely to break a wall by accident with his brute strength than to actually be able to control his supernatural power. But when it came to Charlotte…

Well, Julius decided, he had his answer. And he was glad about these two. He needed to work harder so they wouldn't need to hide, but he would help them –from afar- as much as he could. Thing was, as the Magic was about to leave, Yami embraced Charlotte and kissed her forehead with very open eyes that only then landed on the Magic King. They looked at each other in recognition and Julius couldn't tell which one of the two froze more in terror. Yami cleared his throat and jumped away from Charlotte. Julius barely had the time to hide behind a tree before Charlotte turned around to face his direction.

"What´s wrong? You suddenly went stiff", he heard Charlotte´s voice.

"I just realized how late it is. I still need to stop by the Clover Castle and have a word with Julius-danna before bringing my brats home. Good luck some girl actually gave Finral a reason to stay longer"

For Yami´s indolent personality, even from afar Julius took notice of the uneasiness in his voice. Charlotte might have as well, as she went quiet and Julius could swear she was staring at him looking for traces of a lie. He didn't know what kind of farewell took place after –and for his life, he didn't want to know any more of what he had already witnessed-, but Charlotte left a little while later. By the tone of her voice, she had gotten her happiness back and there weren't any traces of her former exhausted state. He even heard her saying they would see each other in a couple of days. Silence filled the air.

"You certainly made a point when you asked why you would be afraid of facing her. I see why you are not", Julius teased Yami after he passed by his side to leave the Roselei domains.

"Shut up, old man! How long have you been there?"

"Not enough to traumatize both of us, Yami. But I have had my suspicions for a very long time. I actually came to ask Charlotte about the two of you. And to give this back to her", he pointed at the helmet still in his hands, "Never thought I would actually bust you in the middle of something"

Yami swallowed a big lump of indecision: there was no point in denying his relationship but it was the Magic King himself who had caught him red-handed. As much he tried, he wouldn't convince his mentor his suspicions were wrong: as little as Julius had seen, it was actually too much in any case. Too incriminating. So, it was time to confess. What would his mentor say?

"Danna…"

"Well, Yami. Do tell me: are you serious about each other?"

"You knew, right? How did you find out?"

"It´s discourteous to answer a question with another question"

"Talk about discourtesy, danna. Spying on the two of us. That´s just creepy"

"Why does it look like you are avoiding answering my question?"

"Let´s get out of here and then we´ll talk"

They did all the way back to the castle in silence. And it was awkward, for Yami. Julius, on the other hand, was daydreaming like a little schoolgirl. He thought Yami was making up a lame excuse to tell him when they reached their destination and he was prepared with evidence –in case what he had just seen wasn't proof enough for the headstrong captain- but the man himself spoke up as soon as they reached his office.

"It´s been over a year, danna. And yes, we are serious. Now, how did you find out?

"Oh, I´m just an old man who happens to know things. No need to worry, though. It seems I am the only one who knows… besides you two"

Silence.

"Are you aware of the implications, Yami?", asked Julius solemnly.

"You know me. I am aware of the implications of loving the spiny prickly queen, but I don't care driving some noble dudes mad if it means I get to be with her. Besides, I like getting on their nerves: I´ve been at it since I got here".

"So, you love her"

"Yeah, I guess I do", he answered, smiling.

"Are you serious about her? I can tell by the look on her face she is deadly serious, but are you? You are not going to break her heart, right?"

"Thanks for the trust, man. You realize there´s a big chance she might actually break mine, right?"

"At least she would stand you up with grace and décor"

"I´m starting to think you like her better than me"

"I´m just teasing you, Yami"

A sudden look full of bitterness clouded Yami´s face. And there wasn't the least bit of humor in his voice when he spoke again.

"You intend to give me the talk, right?"

"What talk?"

"I feel like you are going to advise me against dating Charlotte because she is a noblewoman. And I understand why you would do it… it´s just that I´m not ready to give up on her"

Yami was not a man to let emotions get the worst out of him and he wasn´t exactly emotional, but Julius saw such sadness and desolation in his face that he understood how deep his feelings for Charlotte actually were: the possibility of losing her was too much for him to bear. Julius felt his heart melt.

"You are wrong. I don't intend for you to stop seeing each other, Yami. I´m actually encouraging the two of you to be together. I want you to know I´m on your side, yours and Charlotte´s. It will be tough, but I´m sure you two are built for it. I assume no one else knows about your relationship, not even the kids that are waiting for you?"

"Shit, I totally forgot about them. No, they don't know. I actually told Finral I was coming to see you but went to Charlotte´s instead. To offer my apologies for the ruckus they caused… and to see her. In fact, nobody knows about us; we decided it was for the best. We are afraid things might blow up out of proportion if someone finds out. Though I confess, danna, I would like everyone to know. It´s too tiresome to hide, but it will be a great big deal in any case… so, yeah. I don't know what to do"

"I think you should keep it low key and keep your relationship only for yourselves. For now. But I´m willing to help you out. You are welcome anytime you want at the castle, though I will leave it up to you to find a plausible reason to come without making anyone suspicious. Are you up for the challenge? Now, will you go to her house to give her helmet back? As a favor to the Magic King? Your kids will understand if, because of this, you are a little late. Later"

Yami smiled. He grabbed Charlotte´s helmet and gave his mentor one meaningful glare before leaving. Well, they were in love. And though he knew for sure it wouldn't happen in a very, very, very, very long time, he thought grandchildren would be really nice to grow old with. And as far as bossy little demons were, the first step towards them had been taken. Maybe Yami and Charlotte still needed to settle down and everything but, well, dreaming is free. For now, it was his duty to create a future without discrimination and hate based on social and economic standings, so no one else needed to hide their love from the eyes of others. He had been trying hard to prevent such ridiculous obstacles reducing anyone the chance of becoming a magic knight, but it seemed he needed to work the extra mile. And he was down for it.

Come to think of it, how hard he had thought about a way to confirm his suspicions only to step on the very situation playing itself out. He suppressed a laugh: everything had gone better than it would have if had planned the whole thing. Well, in the end, it had been love and he was happy and hopeful. The future seemed less tedious and more daring. It was late at night but the upcoming dawn seemed brighter than ever. _Oh_, Julius thought, _what wonderful magic the future will bring to us!_

* * *

So, there it is. I hope you liked it. So far, I´ve written three fanfictions and none of them are meant to be related but I confess this one came as a result of Yami´s comment in "Rumor has it" (my other fic) about Julius being the first one aware of his relationship to Charlotte. Originally, Mereoleona was the protagonist of this fic though I had to start over because the results were a bit lame. I also thought about including Julius in his current state, as a child, but it would have set this fic at a very specific point into Tabata´s original main story, so I thought it might not age well or might not live up to the hype as things are changing so fast in the manga.

Again, I´m sure nothing I write will be as good as "Rumor has it" but I promise to keep trying :)

On that note, thanks to **tainarasatori, stupidblackbuffalo, skyblue454, darkchannel30, arakater, Yin Furtive, NoizV, MegaAltaria, Epifanio Therion, DC Watchergirl, Chromas 10, A.U Writer, TuryA, Ca1piggy, IarIz, eme-ele and EinsZweiDrei123 **for either following, adding to favorites and/or commenting on "Rumor has it". It does mean A LOT. I never thought so many people would actually enjoy that story: when I was writing it, I thought it wasn´t that good and that it was kind of silly, though I had a lot of fun while writing it. Turns out it somehow became my masterpiece 😅. So, thank you so much!

Also, special thanks to ** eme-ele **and **EinsZweiDrei123 **for adding me as one of your favorite authors. It means my work is appreciated and that I should keep up doing it. Thank you

Thanks for reading!


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